Is white rice something that makes you fat? I eat about 2 servings a day like everyone else in Korea (it's unavoidable) and do a crap load of crunches at the gym, but it's never been this hard to get a six pack in my life, even when I was downin' six-packs back at school, it wasn't impossible. Trying to pinpoint my diet...any help?

Are you doing any aerobic exercise? Crunches are good, but you have to be burning fat/calories too. 2 servings of rice a day is ok, not at once though. Best way to burn some calories is to get on a tredmill, bike, or what ever, and do about 30 mins, but mix it up, i.e. go hard for 5 mins, then at a comfortable pace for 5mins. You have get out of the comfort zone. Ignore the Koreans on the bikes reading newspapers, they'll still be fat 10 years from now. Do a general weight programme for about 30 mins as well. Not bodybuilding, 3 sets, 10-12 reps. Don't eat within an hour before going to the gym, or you could puke, and you HAVE to eat something (banana smoothie)within an hour afterwards, recovery is really important. Drink heaps of water, you should never be thirsty. You should be drinking water during the workout too.

Two servings of rice is just two servings of carbs. Thats not going to make you pack on a lot of extra fat unless you wolf down a big bowl of rice right before dinner. Personally, I eat pasta, bread, rice, and cereal, but I wont eat it for dinner or after dinner.

The best way I know of burning fat is to wake up and go for a jog (or bike ride, or swim) before you eat anything. This burns fat because you have no other calories to burn. For me this works better than crunches...

I was born with a sixpack. I can't get rid of it no matter what I do. Its got nothing to do with diet; its genetic. I eat ice cream, rice, pizza's etc like anyone else but can never gain any weight- people are more inclined to say I'm too thin than anything else.
My family is the same. Its genetic.

carbs are easily converted to fat......and they are rich in Calories. It's a good idea to mix your carbs with some multi-fibres.

Basically you should look at the number of calories consumed vs. the number of calories burned.....don't worry as much about whether it's from fat or carbs, etc. If you burn more than you consume you will lose weight....

carbs are easily converted to fat......and they are rich in Calories. It's a good idea to mix your carbs with some multi-fibres.

Basically you should look at the number of calories consumed vs. the number of calories burned.....don't worry as much about whether it's from fat or carbs, etc. If you burn more than you consume you will lose weight....

Koreans never eat rice alone. They always have side dishes with it. I was a actually told by a Korean that Koreans never eat rice alone. Maybe the kimchi helps in the digestion. Anyway, I eat rice and still lose weight, so it is correct that the total number of calories is important. I think it is more important to stop the simple sugars (cola).

You didn't tell us what you feel like after eating those helpings of rice. Do you tend to feel even hungrier after eating carbohydrates? Some people experience a rush of hunger when they eat things like rice, or breads or some fruits because the body releases insulin into the bloodstream during carbohydrate digestion. It can make you insatiable, and cause you to eat heaps more than you planned. Even if you don't immediately reach for more carbs, simply feeling like this is a sign that your body doesn't handle simple carbohydrates too well.

I am like this - whenever I eat breads I really start to crave more. So I try to limit my intake of baked goods, potatoes, grains and the like. I drink upwards of 4 litres of water a day, take vitamins, refrain from animal products of all sorts, incorporate Zen principles into each meal, pray to the appropriate Hindu gods for healthy digestion, and try not to eat things with chemicals, dyes or additives in them. Consquently, I am miserable 90% of the time, but boy, do I look good.

The moral: eat what makes you happy within reason.

Wombat

PS - Sorry if this post makes no sense; someone put a grain of white sugar into my tea this morning and I'm bouncing off the walls in hallucinogenic fervour.

I meant not bodybuilding in the Arnie sense of the word. I'm no expert, but a few sets of around 10-12 would increase muscle size a bit. And yes you're right, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just sitting there. 8-10 reps are good for gaining a bit more size. The other suggestion of running before breakfast is a good one too, but there are a lot people that wouldn't want to do that. Let's not get too pedantic about it, as I don't think there are any budding Olympic athletes amongst the teachers over here.

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